| China Unicom's profit up 28% after it cuts costs |
SHANGHAI, Mar. 30 -- China United Telecommunications Corp has said its full-year profit rose 28 percent in 2006 after the unit cut costs and added users, according to Bloomberg.
Net income increased to 3.6 billion yuan (US$466 million), or 0.172 yuan a share, from 2.8 billion yuan, or 0.134 yuan, a year earlier, China United, parent of the nation's second-largest mobile-phone operator, said today in a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange, citing Chinese accounting standards.
China Unicom Ltd, the Hong Kong-listed unit, yesterday reported 2006 profit, excluding a loss from a convertible bond sale, rose 24 percent to 6.1 billion yuan. Revenue gained to 94.29 billion yuan from 87.1 billion yuan.
Unicom's profit attributable to shareholders was 3.73 billion yuan, down 24 percent from a year earlier, because of an unrealized 2.4 billion yuan loss from the bond sale.
The company sold US$1 billion of three-year bonds, which can be exchanged into shares, to South Korea's SK Telecom Co in July. There was an unrealized loss after Unicom shares ended 2006 at HK$11.40 (US$1.66), compared with the conversion price of HK$8.63. No bonds were converted as of end December.
Under Hong Kong accounting rules, Unicom is required to book the increase in value of the option held by SK Telecom as a loss.
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